


Adventures On A Space Whale

by Neutral03



Series: Slight Voltron AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fevers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) Has Abandonment Issues, Keith (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Keith (Voltron) has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Keith Has Nightmares (Voltron), Keith has bad luck, Keith whump, Krolia is a good mother, M/M, Visions, Vomiting, mother-son bonding, season 5, sick keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24007717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neutral03/pseuds/Neutral03
Summary: Keith and Krolia's adventures on the Spacewhale that we needed to see but were robbed of. And some mother son bonding too.
Relationships: Keith & Krolia, Krolia/Keith's Father, pre-Keith/Lance
Series: Slight Voltron AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1458811
Comments: 17
Kudos: 52





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Here's part 2! Enjoy!   
> -N.

Prologue

Keith was in shock. There was just no other way to describe it, he was in shock. He didn't really know what to think of the situation. This woman standing before him, who was trying to kill him earlier, just told him that he was his mother. She was supposed to be the mother that had left him when he was a baby. She abandoned him and his father, and when he died, it left him all alone. And to this day he's positive that he would have died if Shiro hadn't come into his life and turned things around for him. So it was a safe bet to say that he was completely shocked here. When he found out that she was Garla, Keith wanted so badly to go out and look for her. He wanted to track her or any of the family that she had down and ask questions. He had almost 20 years worth of questions to ask and he wanted answers. To this day he still feels like that it was all his fault that she had left him. Even though his Dad always told him that she had to leave, and that she didn't get a choice in the matter. He would tell him not to grow up to hate her for it, that she didn't want to leave. And his favorite one was that she left them because she loved them so much. As a kid Keith never got what that was supposed to mean to him, he was angry and he wanted answers but could never get any. He grew up to not completely hate her, but he also didn't really want to ever find her either. He had given up when Shiro disappeared on ever finding her, but he guesses that he spoke too soon. 

Piloting the little Garlan Battle Cruiser, Keith was nervous. And he's never in his whole life been nervous about anything when it came to flying. Flying was one of the only things in life that could always calm him down. Even though he's been put in very stressful situations, while behind the controls of the Black and Red Lions, he's never really felt stressed. Him being the one flying, being the one in control, it kept him from losing his head. Or, more likely losing his head more than he already did. Flying kept him grounded, kept him sane, it was one of the only things that Keith had that no one could completely take away from him. And that was what he loved about it. But now in the present, not so much. To be honest Keith hasn't felt his anxiety levels so high in a very long time. He knew that there were a lot of factors in his life at the moment that were working against him. Like, the fact that he's running away from evil Garlan Warlords and their creatures that they were experimenting on. Or, the fact that his long lost mother was standing right over his shoulder, yelling at him to go faster, and to dodge. Neither one of them were helping the situation that much, but Keith really couldn't find it in him to complain or anything. He was pretty sure that if he tried to talk at the moment he would lose what little composer and control over his stomach contents that he had left. 

And it was just his luck that one of the ship’s weapons hit the engine and they ended up being sucked into some kind of vortex. It took them forever to get away but they were finally able to lose their tail. Which just left the two of them alone with each other on the ship. Keith was pretty sure that he has never felt this awkward before in his whole entire life. He really wished that a whole would just randomly appear on the ship and just swallow him up whole so that he wouldn’t have to deal with this huge mess he found himself in now. But the side of him that wanted answers, that wanted to interrogate Krolia until she told him her whole life story. The side that wanted to know why and how, and where and everything else won out in the end. “Why?” Keith asked her after a long time of just being the two of them. “We have a mission to complete.” She told him coldly. “Just focus on the task at hand.” That really pissed Keith off. “No.” He told her. “You just up and disappeared when I was an infant,with no rhyme or reason.” He told her. “I lived my whole life up until just 20 dobahses ago without you.” Keith told her. “I deserve to know why.” This was also the angriest that he’s felt with anyone, including himself in a while. He knew that he probably be showing her some more respect and whatever, but she left him. She is part of the reason that Keith has grown up hating himself and everything about him. Why he was picked on, bullied in every school that he went. Why after his Dad died he got shipped off to different foster homes, and abused and raped. He knew that there was a mission that he needed to focus on, but his past traumas weren’t wanting to cooperate with him at the moment. 

For the longest time Krolia didn’t say anything. She just sat there and stared out of the windshield of the cruiser. Her silence was making Keith very antsy, and normally things don’t go well when he gets antsy. He really wished that there was more than just the two of them here now. He’d take anyone at this point, Lance, Allura, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Coran, Kolivan. Hell, he’d even take Slav or Lotor at this point. He just didn’t want to be left alone in the same room with his mother at the moment. He didn’t know what to do, he’s never been put in this situation before and he was severely out of his element here. He really needed Krolia to say something, anything, it was killing him! He didn’t know how much longer he could last before he lost it on her, again, and he had a feeling that this time things wouldn’t turn out alright. And that was the best outcome that he could come up with. 

Right when Krolia was getting ready to talk, they got hit with something. What, Keith wasn’t really sure, he just knew that it was black and it could really pack a punch. He tried his best to stay clear of it but they just kept coming and coming and coming. It got to the point that they had to bail ship. Floating through space really wasn’t his idea of a good time, especially when he’s pretty sure that there’s a hole in his suit and a crack in Krolia’s helmet. He thought that this was it. This was how he was going to die. Keith was filled to the brim with regret at the moment. He regrets that he’ll never see Team Voltron again. He’ll never see his brother again. And one of the things that he regrets the most is that he never worked up the nerve to confess to Lance and tell him that he loved him. He didn’t want to die, he really didn’t. He wasn’t suicidal, alright he wasn’t like that anymore, Lance helped him out with that, and he didn’t even know it. And he never will because Keith wouldn’t be able to tell him that. 

Lucky for them, they were able to find refuge on this giant space whale thing. And it’s atmosphere was enough like Earth’s that they were able to take off their masks and breathe in the air. It gave Keith just a little bit of relief, not a whole lot, but enough to make him not want to throw up as much anymore. The only qualm that Keith had about this thing was the visions. He knew that it was because of the dying stars and being at the known and yet unknown edge of the universe, but that didn’t make him like it anywhere. But, at least he knew why his mom left. She left to protect her family. She left her dad heartbroken, on his home planet to make sure that he wouldn’t die for real a next time. She left her one and only infant son behind for him to grow up and spend his whole life without a mother. To possibly have him grow up to hate her and she most likely ends up dead before ever getting back to them. He felt bad for her that she had to do that. And it dawned on Keith that it was the exact same thing he did when he left for the Blade. He left Voltron so that Lance could still have a place on the Team. He too left to protect the person that he loved the most. He was more like her than he thought he was. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Krolia's first hours on the whale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first official chapter. Hope that you guys like it. There's no update shecdule or anything so I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but it should be easier to post since this is shorter than the first one. Have a nice day!   
> -N.

Chapter 1

Once they were able to get used to the vision somewhat for the moment, they both decided that they needed a plan of some sort. The two of them had come to the conclusion that they needed to find the essentials for their survival. The clothes on their backs would have to do them for now, and if they have to, once they find water they can just rinse them out periodically. Then there was water, and food the two most important things for them at the moment. Humans can go about 3 days without any water and even longer without any food. Krolia told him that those numbers were doubled when it came to Garlan biology. Which eased Keith’s mind a little bit when he learned that. It meant that all of those times that he didn’t eat for long periods of time in his past, he didn’t do as much damage to his body as he thought he did. Shelter was something that they were going to have to be careful about. They didn’t know if there was any wildlife on here besides them, and if there was then they don’t know if they would be viewed as friend or foe. Hopefully friend, but with the way that things have been going for the both of them, most likely not. 

It took them a few hours but they were finally able to find most of what was on their checklist. The two of them had stumbled upon a little creek or stream of some sort in the woods. Krolia tested the water first to make sure that it didn’t have any immediate effects. Keith guesses that it was her maternal instincts kicking in to make sure that the water can’t kill him. Even after learning why she had to leave him, he still didn’t know how to feel about her. He understands why she had to leave and that she really didn’t want to leave them. But knowing the Garla like he does and the fact that his mother knows the race better than he does, he gets it. She put them in more danger being near them than away from them. And even if they didn’t have the Garla and a huge space war to worry about, there was the humans themselves. Keith was pretty sure that if his mom tried to take him to school on his first day then the cops and all of the military branches would have been sicked on his school Though he wouldn’t have minded it that much since he hated his primary school but that’s beside the point. The whole point of this is that he understands her a little bit better now than he did when they first met about a day ago. It probably helped that they weren’t trying to kill each other anymore though. But, after all these years of thinking that she left them, left him behind because she didn’t love him. He went through all of this childhood and the beginnings of his adult life thinking that. And it didn’t help that many of the adults that he had in his life told him similar things and that just cemented it in his head that there was something wrong with him. There was something wrong with him that made him unlovable that even his own mother couldn’t love him and that was why no one else would. For the longest time the only person that Keith thought ever loved him was his Pop and when he died he just figured that was how his life was going to be for the rest of his life. 

They were able to find a cave near the stream and when they checked it out it seemed abandoned. Krolia deemed it fit for living, and told him that if something came in then they were going to have to go through her before getting to him. Keith felt his heart flutter a little bit at that. It still was a foregin concept to him to have a mother, but he knew that if he actually tried then maybe they could have a relationship. He really wanted to have a relationship with his mother, she was some of the only family that he had left besides Shiro. Once the cave was deemed a nice shelter, Krolia told him to go and gather firewood so that they could start a fire. She was going to go and see if she could find them some food. She wasn’t going to take any chances about how long Keith could go without any food in his system. So Keith spent the next 20 minutes by himself off collecting firewood for them all to use. When that was done he came back to the cave to see if he could start a fire and get it going. When that was done he just sat there and waited to see if his mom would come back this time. A little bit petty he knows, but it was also a very big and very real fear that he had. 

It only took about 15 minutes after Keith got back to their shelter before Krolia came back. She didn’t have a whole lot of food, but it was enough for the two of them. And with Keith’s time in the system he’s used to not being able to eat a whole lot. Krolia was able to bring back some sort of smallish of animal that Keith had never seen before. It looked weird, but edible nonetheless, so he wasn’t going to complain about it at all. But he wasn’t sure if he would be able to eat since his stomach was still in knots. Keith was one of those people that when he got worked up, he got nauseous and it can sometimes take days before his stomach settles enough for him to eat if he gets worked up enough. And he got worked up plenty enough in the past day or so, he wasn’t really sure how long it has been. All that he knew was that he still felt nauseous and the mere thought of any sort of food in his stomach made him gag. He just hoped that Krolia wouldn’t notice and say something about it. He wasn’t really ready to have that conversation with her about the more shady parts of his childhood. That was something for them to deal with at a later date. Right now he just wanted to get this day over with and sleep for a couple of weeks. Which was sort of an improvement, since he hadn’t been able to sleep properly for months. Keith hoped that he would actually just check out and just sleep, no dreams, no nightmares, no nothing. He was just so tired. 

“Keith,” A voice that floated above him whispered. “Keith, you need to wake up,.. Keith.” Whatever it was, was shaking his shoulder but he just wanted to be left alone. He was tired, and just wanted to sleep, he was really tired. But whoever it was, wasn’t going to give up on him anytime soon. It had gotten to the point that Keith had given up, and let them win. Groaning, Keith opened his eyes and sat up, though he wasn’t sure when he had laid down in the first place. It took a little bit for his eyes to focus enough to tell him where he was. Once he was awake enough he remembered that he was in the little cave that Krolia and him had found earlier. Krolia was crouched in front him with a tentative hand on his shoulder. From what Keith could tell, she seemed worried about him, and he didn’t know how to feel about that either. When Krolia was sure that he was okay enough to be left alone and he wasn’t going to fall asleep on her again, she turned her attention back to their little fire. It looked like she was cooking whatever it was that she had killed and brought back. Keith wasn’t sure, so he just laid his head against the cave wall and was trying to stay awake. It wasn’t going so well in his opinion. 

When the food was finally done Krolia had to go and wake him up again. She handed him a chunk of the meat before going back over to the fire to make sure that the rest of their food wouldn’t burn too much. Keith sat on one side of the fire, while Krolia sat on the other side. The two of them ate in silence for the first good chunk of their dinner, or whatever it was supposed to be. Keith wasn’t sure what time it was, and he just wanted to sleep. There was probably something wrong with that, but he was too tired to care at the moment. Though he was still lucid enough to see that Krolia was watching him from a distance. He knew that she was either worried about him, fascinated or both, but he didn’t really care at the moment. Though it probably doesn’t help that he really hasn’t touched his food. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful or anything, but he just couldn’t make himself eat. Though with how languid he was acting and how disoriented he seemed, Krolia probably thinks that he’s dying or something. He should probably tell her that he’s not dying, he's just tired.

“ M’ not dying.” Keith slurred out. Man, he must be really tired if he’s slurring his words. But it worked, he got Krolia’s attention when he spoke up, though he only seemed to worry even more. “You don’t act like it.” Was all that she said to him. Keith just shrugged his shoulders. “M’fine, just really tied..” Keith told her. “I’m just tired.” He repeated a little more clearly. “I just haven’t really slept in the past year or so..” He trailed off. He didn’t catch the look on her face, of concern and worry though. “What do you mean that you haven’t slept in like a year?” Krolia asked him. She seemed to be very worried about him if her voice was anything to go by. “Don’t know.. Just haven’t.. “ Keith said. “I’ve always had trouble falling asleep ever since I was little.” he told her. “Really?” Krolia asked him. “From what I remember you used to sleep for hours and hours on end,” She told him. “At first I was concerned that there was something wrong with you, until your father told me that it was normal for some babies on Earth to behave like that.” Keith just shrugged. “I don’t remember that,..Pop just always told me that he could never get me to sleep and stay that way for long.” Keith told her. “It wasn’t that bad when I was really little, …. Then when Pop died things just got worse..” Keith trailed off. 

Keith didn’t even go to check and see what her reaction was to that tidbit of information before he went on ahead and just kept talking. “The homes that they put me in weren’t great.” Keith said. “Sometimes I couldn’t sleep because I missed him or was having nightmares.” Keith told her. “Other times, the kids or the adults, sometimes both used to take turns at me then lock me in a closet or something, so I would stay up all night to make sure that they couldn’t hurt me anymore.” Krolia didn’t say anything and Keith just kept going. “Most of the time I just couldn’t shut my brain off enough to get any sleep.” Keith paused and rolled his neck before he went on. “Things got even worse than that after Gloria, I went days on end without closing my eyes, I barely blinked most of the time, and I just couldn’t.” At some point Keith had curled up in a ball and wrapped his arms around his knees and brought them to his chest. 

“Things didn’t get good again until I met Shiro.” Keith said. “He took me to a doctor I hated, but they put me on some kind of pills and I could sleep again, kind of.” Keith started rocking back and forth in place, trying to self-soothe. “Then Shiro went missing, and I got mad, and no one would give me the pills anymore.” Keith said. “I didn’t mind though, I hated taking them anyway, made me feel weird, and it was easier for me to get mad and stuff.” Keith had a hard time realizing that he wasn’t making that much sense anymore but he just kept talking. “But I was okay for the most part, lived in the old shack that was near the house, and I even ended up finding Blue, that’s how I ended up out here looking for you.” Keith told her. “ I tried to find you after I met Kolivan, but when Shiro went missing again I stopped.” Keith said. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I thought you were dead.” He told her. “Thought you didn’t want me anymore.” He didn’t know when Krolia had come over to him, but one minute she wasn’t there and the next she was. She wrapped him up in her arms and held him to her chest. At that point Keith hadn’t realized that he was crying, but once he started he couldn’t stop. He ended up crying himself to sleep that night in his mother’s arms. And When Keith was asleep, then did Krolia let herself cry over all the trauma that her son went through while she was gone. Even though she left to protect him, he still ended up getting hurt anyway. What kind of mother was she?


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krolia spends some times thinking about things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2, chapter 3 should either be out later tonight or sometime tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe out there. Have a nice day!   
> -N.

Chapter 2

Keith slept the rest of the night fitfully. Krolia had made up a little place in the cave for him to sleep somewhat comfortably. She did everything in her power to make him as comfortable as she possibly could. Krolia didn’t sleep at all that night, she was very concerned about her son. She wasn’t sure if he was injured, or if he was sick or something, but she knew that this wasn’t a good sign. She also felt awful for what she did to him. She knows that the only reason that she left was to protect him and his father Russell. After Russell almost died at the hands of the Empire, Krolia couldn’t take any more chances that they would come back to Earth and take them away from her. Until the day that she could leave Earth again, she would lie awake at night holding Keith tightly in her arms just watching him. When they saw the visions of what happened to them as a family, she was relieved and at the same time upset. Krolia was conflicted about which emotion was right for her to feel. With the knowledge that Keith knew that she didn’t choose to leave her, things could go either way. She knew that things could go either way between them. And she wouldn’t blame him if Keith spent the rest of his life hating her for leaving him. She just didn’t want anything bad to happen to Keith and Russell, and it looked like that plan backfired in her face terribly. 

Since Keith seemed like he wasn’t going to be waking up anytime soon, Krolia took the moment of peace as a time of self-reflection. The day that Krolia gave birth to Keith, was one of the happiest days of her life. She never in a million deca-pheobes did she ever think that she would have children. As a child growing up in the Empire, she grew up knowing only pain and heartache. She never knew her parents as a little girl. She and her sister were raised by their grandmother up until they went their separate ways during adulthood after their grandmother died. Krolia grew up hearing stories about how great their father was. She can remember her and her older sister Keena gathering around their grandmother Rina and listening to all of the stupid stuff that he had done in his youth. Their grandmother loved to tell people about all of the stress and panic that her son had put her through. But the only good thing that she would tell people that he did was meeting their mother Senia and having the two of them. Part of the reason that Krolia joined the Blade was that she wanted to get revenge on the Empire for taking her parents away from her and her family. Her father was a highly, well respected, high ranking Garlan Officer in the military. He was loved by all of his men and had good standing with their Emperor. That was until he realized how cruel and brutal their race’s practices were. And he spoke out publicly about it frequently. And that got both him and her mother killed. When the officers came to take him away for his execution, her mother got in the way, begging them not to do it. And the man in charge at the time just decided to take her away too. Krolia was 5 when both of her parents were killed in front of her. And that was the day she promised herself that she was never going to let herself have a family to be taken away from her. 

What she didn’t expect was to meet one Russell Jackson Kogane. When Krolia had crash-landed on Earth all those years ago, she thought that was it. As her vessel was hurtling towards the planet, she thought that she was going to die. And if the crash didn’t kill her then she was sure that she wouldn’t last long enough on the planet to get help. What she didn’t expect was to meet Russell when she woke up again the next time. At first the two of them didn’t get along at all. Things were awkward and tense between the two of them for weeks. It wasn’t until Russell offered Krolia, her first beer that things began to change. And then one night, one thing led to another and 9 months later they had Keith. Keith just amazed her, all her life she never thought that she would be able to have a family of her own, once her’s was taken away from her. She was even more turned off to having a family when she found out that her sister had run off from her post and mated with someone from another species. Krolia herself didn’t really care either way as long as Keena was happy, but their government didn’t share the same sentiment. And even though there was rumors floating around that Zarkon’s son Lotor was a hybrid too, it didn’t make things any easier. The commanders and generals in charge of all of the divisions didn’t like the fact of having non-pure bloods in their ranks. And the war lord that Keena worked for was one of the worst ones to come by. 

She had come and found Krolia not that long after she had joined the Blade and told her that she was deserting and running away with her lover. She never told her what species he was from, she only knew his name and that he wasn’t Garlan. All that she knew was that his name was Andante, and her sister loved him dearly. She didn’t know this until years after she had returned to her undercover work for the Blade that her sister had a child. It was a little girl by the name of Axca. She never saw her sister again, Keena had died in childbirth, leaving the baby with her father. Andante was later killed when his planet was raided by the Garla and they took Axca away to be trained as an assanaion. By the time that Krolia was able to find her niece, she was already under Lotor’s control. She was too late to save her niece from the Garla’s control and she just hoped and prayed to whoever would listen that her son and lover would be okay. To this day she regrets not taking her older sister with her when she fled to the Blade. She never wanted any of this to happen. Keena was the only family that she had left besides her son and lover, and she couldn’t even protect her from getting hurt. She blames herself for all of this, and she always thinks that only if she tried harder, then maybe none of this would have happened. 

Sighing Krolia turned her head to catch another glimpse of her son’s face. From the day that he was born Keith looked almost like a carbon copy of her. The only difference was his skin tone and his mesmerizing violet eyes. But he still reminded her so much of his father that it wasn’t funny. It broke her heart to realize that Russell had died, he was the only person that she had ever loved in a romantic sense. Even though she knew that this was a naive and childish wish, she always dreamt that one day they would be reunited and live happily ever after. And now it just about crushed her to learn that he died. But it killed her even more to learn that her baby grew up most of his life as an orphan. It broke her heart even more than Russell’s death. At least Krolia had her grandmother and sister to take care of her. For the longest time Keith had no one to look out for him and take care of him. Krolia spent a lot of that night holding back tears, she tried to cry as silently as she could so she wouldn’t risk waking up Keith. And with the way that he was acting earlier she knew that he needed all of the sleep that he could possibly get. But what she didn’t know was that her night was about to get way more interesting. 

This was still a new experience and it took a little bit for her to get used to the feeling. What she saw through this one just destroyed her. She saw glimpses of Keith’s childhood, after Russell’s death. How he was moved from home to home, family to family. How almost all of them treated Keith like he was garbage and threw him out on the curb instead of trying to help, and drilling it in his mind that he wasn’t capable or worthy of being loved. She watched as he was picked on, bullied, ridiculed, and humiliated by children in both the homes and school. His peers at school seemed to take great joy and pleasure out of mocking him for being an orphan. One particular memory of instances like this caught her attention. One snotty little looking kid had come up to Keith and told him that the reason that he was an orphan was because he wasn’t lovable and deserved to live and die on his own. Keith retaliated by turning around and punching the little ass in the face. He broke his nose too, and that filled Krolia with a great sense of pride. She admits herself that she is a very short tempered person. She’s always been like that and she can remember as a child her grandmother telling her that she got it from her father. But Russell was no saint either, he could really give you one for if you pushed him hard enough. And from what little interaction that she’s had with her son so far it seems that he got his father’s temper, but her lack of impulse control. Another thing that she witnessed was the night that Gloria had died. It made her stomach turn watching her son being attacked and abused by that monster of a man. By the time that the vision was over with she wanted to commit murder, even though the bastard was already dead. No one messed with her son. 

Once she was able to move after the vision was over with and she could move, she jumped up. She slowly and quietly made her way over to where Keith was laid out asleep. Crouching down behind him, Krolia moved herself to where she was laying down behind him. Between Keith and the cave wall Krolia was able to get comfortable enough and wrapped her arms around her son, hoping to give him some more warmth. She moved her hand and went to feel his forehead, he felt a little bit warm to her, but she didn’t know if it was because of him sleeping so close to the fire or not. She made a mental note to make sure that she kept an eye on it for the next couple of days or so. She made sure that there wasn’t any immediate threat before cuddling up with Keith and pulling him closer to her chest. She made a promise to herself that night, she was going to make up for all of the missing time that she had with Keith. She was going to be the mother that neither one of them had and the one that she wanted to be. She was going to try her hardest to make it up to him and to make things better for the both of them. She loved her son and she wasn’t going to let the two of them be separated with each other anytime soon, if ever at all. She wants Keith and her to have some sort of relationship. She wants him to learn all about his family that he never got to meet. She wants to show her son that he can and will be loved by people around him. Krolia was appalled by what happened to Keith as a child and she wants so bad to just erase all of that. Keith was her son, her precious little baby boy, and she would do anything and everything for him.   



	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is sick and Krolia takes care of him. Some weird mother-son bonding time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway there! Woohoo! after part 2 is finished I think that I'm going to go back and work on SEVENTEEN for a little bit so it doesn't get forgotten, then I'm going to come back and finish out the last 2 parts and then all my time will be with SEVENTEEN and In Another World. For now enjoy and have fun. Next update will probably be tomorrow at some point.   
> -N.

Chapter 3

Krolia's fear came to life the next morning when it seemed that Keith had developed a fever. It didn't seem to be that serious, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She didn't need him to get deathly ill when they had no access to medical equipment and she still wasn't a hundred percent sure that any food that she had at her disposal to give him wouldn't end up killing him in the end. She was worried, but now wasn't the time for her to freak out and lose her cool. She had a child to take care of now, Keith needed her now and she needed to be there for him. The first thing that she had to do was wake Keith up to see how bad the damage was. It took awhile but she was finally able to rouse her son up to join the living. He groaned as Krolia moved him to set up against the wall of the cave. And he didn't even put up a fight when she started checking him out for other injuries, and other ailments. With how hotheaded her son seemed to be, it was a little worrying that he wasn't putting up a fight at all or being so compliant with her since she was practically a stranger. Keith's eyes were half open and he seemed to be staring off into the distance looking at nothing. Krolia really was worried about her son's health now. 

After making sure that Keith wasn't injured in any way, Krolia got to work. The only other thing that she could find wrong with him was a hole in his Blade suit. The hole wasn't too terribly big, and Krolia was pretty sure that she would be able to fix it. And with how sweaty he, it probably wouldn't do any harm to strip him of it and cool him off a little bit. Keith only just grunted and groaned a bit here and there while she undressed him. She left Keith in all of his under clothes and garments. Checking on Keith one last time, she went to go get more food, and firewood to set them up for a while. She wasn't gone long, and by the time that she got back Keith hadn't moved any if at all. Krolia had to keep her emotions in check so that she could keep herself stable enough to take care of her son. Krolia quickly got to work on her tasks and she had fed the fire and was working on making some food for both her and Keith. While that was busy cooking, she had ducked out of the cave and headed to the little creek to get them some more water. The food was done by the time that she had gotten back and all that she had to do was wake Keith up so he could get some food in him. Which sounded a whole lot easier than it turned out to be, but she didn't know that yet. 

"Keith." Krolia said as she tapped her son's cheek, trying to get her son to wake up. Keith's eyes fluttered open, but he just groaned and didn't really seem to be that aware of his surroundings. His head lolled around against the wall, eventually his head ended up on Krolia's shoulder. She was a little bit surprised at the action, though since her son was terribly ill, he probably wasn't in his right mind. Regardless, she held her son close to her chest and rocked him back and forth a little bit to calm him down some. She gave it a few more minutes before she tried to wake Keith up again. This time she went and shook his shoulder to get him more alert. It seemed to work this time, and he opened his eyes and stayed awake this time. "What?" Keith croaked out. He seemed to still be disoriented, but he recognized Krolia and she took that as a good sign. He looked around the room trying to figure out where they were at the time. "Keith," Krolia said softly. "How are you feeling?" Keith took a few minutes to process what was being said to him. It was a little concerning at how long it was taking him to respond to her. "M'okay, tired, head hurts." Keith slurred out. "'Ere 're ee?" He asked her. And Krolia was really starting to worry about Keith now he wasn't making very much sense, but he was more coherent than he was last night. Hopefully things wouldn't get any worse than this. Krolia hoped that she just didn't jinx herself. 

"Keith?" Krolia prodded him. Keith hummed in response, Krolia took this as a good sign that he was still awake and pretty coherent. "Are you up to eating something?" She asked him. " I know that you probably don't want to, but we need to get something in you so that you can get better,'' she told him. When Keith didn't say anything Krolia got worried. She figured that it most likely meant that either he was too nauseous or he was so out of it that he didn't realize he was hungry and his body was starting to shut down. She was praying that he didn't end up going septic, she didn't have anything with her to treat it. "At least drink some water." She insisted. Keith nodded his head, but she didn't speak head nod so she didn't know what it meant. "Yes, to water or yes to eating?" She asked him. "Both." He told her. "M'thirsty and cold." Krolia smiled at him softly. "Don't worry, I can fix that in just a tick." She told him. Krolia maneuvered Keith to where he was sitting up by himself while she went back over to the fire to get their food and water for him. It took a little bit of prodding for her to get him to acknowledge that he had food and water in front of him now. Keith ate and drank very slowly, and it wasn't a whole lot, but Krolia figured that he was more likely than not to eat a whole lot. The important thing though was that she got him to consume anything at all. She was choosing her battles to fight at the moment and she was taking the win when she saw one. Krolia just hoped that whatever it was that Keith had contracted that it wouldn't last too long, for his sake, just as much as her own. 

When Keith was finished eating he just sort of slumped back against Krolia's chest. She didn't flinch at the contact this time, and just held her son close to her as a hopeful sign of comfort. With the information that she got of Keith's past from the visions that she's seen, she knows that they have things that they need to talk about. But that's something that they can deal with at a later date when Keith was well. She just hoped that it was soon. Feeling Keith's breath start to even out Krolia just held him to her chest. She loved doing stuff like this with him when he was an infant. Krolia was just enthralled by her son, to this day if you asked her this she'd tell you that Keith was the best thing to ever happen to her hands down. She regrets the day she left, but she knew that she put him in more danger staying than leaving. She just never saw him getting thrown into this war too. But hey, she always knew that her son was special, and for once it wasn't a mother's biased opinion, it was the truth. When she was sure that Keith had fallen back asleep, Krolia laid him down a little bit closer to the fire hoping that it would warm him up a bit. She then got to work on her long to-do list to be able to transform this cave into a place that they could live for the next, whoever knows how long they'll be here, they better make the most of it. 

In the couple of hours or so that Keith had slept, Krolia had gotten a lot done. She collected more firewood, and made a little place just outside the cave at it's edge for it to go. Krolia went to the stream and got more water. And once she did that she went and caught them some fish for later. Once all of that was safe and secured back at the cave, she went to go and check on Keith. He was still asleep, and when she felt his forehead in comparison to her's he still felt warm, but not as bad as earlier. Checking on Keith one last time, Krolia headed back out to gather some fruit, herbs and whatever else she could find for them to eat that didn't look that bad. She seemed to be pretty lucky, she found some berries, and fruits that looked edible to her, and hopefully weren't poisonous. And she also saw some small animals that she could go and hunt later on. Even though they seemed small in stature, they looked to have plenty of meat on their bones, and their fur would make great blankets for them. Now, she just had to find something that she can use to fix that hole in Keith's suit. Hopefully they wouldn't need it for a while, but you never know what would happen, especially with their luck on things. 

Surprisingly, she got all of her tasks done and Keith was still sound asleep where she had left him earlier that morning. Panicking for a only a few minutes she went over to check that he was still breathing properly, which he was. Since she had nothing else of importance to do, besides take care of her ill son, she just decided to sit there and watch him. She was also on high alert for any more visions that were going to be coming their way. She was really hoping that any of what they would see next wouldn't be too terribly bad. She sat herself down right next to Keith and brushed her fingers through his thick raven locks of hair. She can still remember Russell telling her that Keith's hair was the same color of his mother's and how he thought that she had the prettiest hair in the world when he was a child. She had a fond smile on her face as she watched her baby sleep. Krolia was enjoying the calmness of the situation up until Keith woke up. And to put it into layman's terms, everything went to Hell. 

"Mmhh.." Keith groaned as he sat up. Krollia was on him in an instant, she wanted to make sure that he was okay, He didn't seem to be too in touch with the events going on. "Are you alright Keith?" Krolia asked him. "What's wrong, what do you need?" Keith turned his head to look at her and he seemed to still be able to recognize her. "M.. Mom?" he croaked out. And Krolia's heart stopped for a little bit at that. Keith hasn't really spoken that much to her, and even then he hadn't called her anything really other than her name. So him calling her 'Mom' was special for her. "Yeah Keith," She told him. "I'm here Keith, just tell me what you need." Keith didn't say anything for a couple of ticks and when she did Krolia knew that she was screwed. "Mom, M'think I'm gonna puke." he told her, as he covered his mouth with his hand. Well, this wasn't how she expected her day to go, but hey, it was just her luck. 

Krolia was able to get him up and out of the cave in about 30 seconds or less. And the next thing that he knew was that Keith was crouched over outside throwing up everything that he had eaten in the last little bit, which wasn't a whole lot but it still hurt. And the only reason that he hadn't face planted in his own puke yet was that his Mom was the only thing keeping him up right. But he was really too out of it to really care about stuff like that. When he was done dry-heaving, Krolia moved him back a little bit and sat him down against the opening of the mouth of the cave. Keith just sort of sagged back against the cave wall, since it was helping to keep him up right. Keith sighed and closed his eyes, he felt absolutely awful, and he just wanted to go to sleep, but he still felt sick to his stomach so he knew that this probably wasn't over yet. He was still awake and aware enough to be half paying attention to the things going on around them. Keith could hear Krolia moving around him and stuff, but she spent most of her time hovering over him and then moving away a little bit to try and not over crowd him. It then dawned on Keith that Krolia was probably having just as much of a hard time if not even harder than him with this situation. She probably expected to never see him again at this point, and for him to just pretty much get thrown into her lap. And he just didn't know how to act around her without it coming off as him being an asshole. And even though he still wasn't too keen on being left, but he does realize why she did it and that it wasn't her choice so he wasn't mad anymore. He was just awkward at this point, and he doesn't know how to make it not awkward. 

"It's okay." Keith told her, with his eyes closed. Even though his eyes weren't open and he couldn't see her, he knew that she was watching him. He heard her move at the sound of his voice and her take in a breath. "What?" She asked him. She seemed surprised that he was talking to her at all. Though if their positions were reversed he probably would be reacting way worse than she was at the moment. If it wasn't obvious he wasn't a people person. "I said that it's okay." Keith told her. "You can come and sit near me so that you don't have to stand there." At first he thought that Krolia wasn't going to answer him and just go back to watching him. But he was surprised when he heard her sit down next to him. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked him tentatively. Keith groaned and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know." Keith told her. "I feel like crap and my stomach's still in knots so it's probably not over yet." He told her. Krolia moved her hand to feel his forehead. "You still feel warm." She told him. "I think your temperature has risen a little bit since the last time I checked."She said. "But overall you're cooler than you were last night." Keith just nodded his head in agreement, showing that he was paying attention to him. This was going to be a long day. 


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Krolia bond some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're approaching the finish line here people. Hope you like this one, and the goal is to get the next chapter out later today. So have a nice day, and I'll see you guys later.   
> -N.

Chapter 4

Luck seemed to be on their side this time. Keith’s condition improved greatly over the next couple of days. He did end up getting sick a couple of more times, but all in all he was getting better. Krolia was very happy and relieved that he could keep down food and water for the most part. Though Keith still wasn’t eating enough for her standards, but he was actually eating so she wasn’t going to push the issue too much, this time. For the most part, Keith was doing better, he seemed to be getting healthier the longer that they were on the space whale in the Quantum Abyss. Though he was very quiet and reserved around her, she wasn’t sure if it was because he was uncomfortable or because that was just how he is. She was guessing that it probably was a mixture of the both of them, but she couldn’t be sure for certain. So, she just let it go and hoped that they could try again and start from scratch, try and get to know each other a little bit. Though, the idea seemed more simpler in her head than it was in execution. But this was her kid, so she really shouldn’t be that surprised when he didn’t really want to talk to her about anything. So of course things weren’t going her way, her grandmother was right, her stubborn streak as a child really was going to come back to bite her in the ass. 

Just when she thought that her and Keith wouldn’t be able to get along, a vision came into the picture. They’ve experienced a lot of those during their time here. They differ in what they show them every time though. Sometimes, they would get a glimpse of their past or of the past of someone that they know. Other times it would be pieces and scraps from the future. With only getting little bits and pieces of the full story they didn’t really know what was going on for sure. And it was a very confusing process for the both of them to swallow and get used to. But, they were able to grow somewhat closer to each other because they were seeing and experiencing the same things because of this. Krolia could still tell that Keith was a little cautious of her still, but he was warming up to her and that was all that she could ask for. And on the bright side of thing she was able to find the materials that she needed to fix Keith’s suit. Not that long after he could stand up by himself again, she made him strip and go wash off in the stream so that she could fix and wash his clothes. And when he was done, she herself went and did the same thing. Things were going pretty well for them for the most part. 

When it happened the two of them were sitting at the mouth of the cave. Krolia was sitting on one side, while Keith was on the other. The two of them hadn’t spoken to each other since breakfast and that was hours ago. Keith was curled up on himself again and he seemed to be staring off into the distance. Krolia was watching him from her position across from him and she wasn’t even trying to hide it from him now. She was still worried about him, Krolia still hadn’t confronted him about the information that she had learned from the visions she saw when he was sick. She didn’t know how to go about bringing it up to him, but she knew that they had to talk about it at some point. She just didn’t expect it to be now when another vision came through like a hurricane and knocked them off of their feet. It was something that neither were prepared for, but they were learning to adapt to it though. 

_\-------- ------- Vision----------- --------_

_They were back at the graveyard that Russell was buried at. It was her and Keith, standing side by side. Krolia had her arm wrapped around her son, and there were people standing on either side of them, but you couldn't get a good look at their face to see who they were. Looking over at Keith, she could see that he was holding something in his arms. Focusing, Krolia was able to peer at him to see what was in his arms. Whatever was in his arms, Keith had wrapped up in a blanket. Krollia thought that it was very odd, but it finally clicked in her head when the bundle started to move about. Keith pulled his attention away from the headstone and back to the budn;e of blankets. He looked down at them with a small smile and started adjusting them to get it to stop moving. “Ssh..” Keith said softly. “Hey, it’s alright, baby, it’s alright there’s no need for you to cry, we’re right, here, I’m right here and no one’s going anywhere.” He told what Krolia realized was a baby. She couldn’t get a good look at the baby, but she learned that’s what it was when the poor little thing started fussing. A baby? Keith had a baby? Was it his? Does this mean that she was a grandmother? All of these questions were going through her head so fast that she couldn’t keep up. But she felt the tell-tale sign in her head that her vision would be coming to an end soon. The last thing that she saw before it ended was a little pair of Keith’s eyes staring up at her. “GG!” The little girl shrieked at her. And everything went black._

_\-------- -------- End Vision --------- ---------_

Krolia woke with a start when she was able to come too. Groaning, she sat up and looked around holding her head. One thing that they still couldn’t figure out how to deal with was the intense headaches that came with the visions. Luckily the effects of these didn’t last that long, and they were able to get rid of them not that long after they started. When she was sure that her brain wasn’t going to try and melt out of her head, she turned her attention back to Keith. Looking over at her son, he seemed to be okay at first glance. He was still curled up into the same ball that he was in before this started. He had his eyes closed and his head was resting against the cave wall. He must have been feeling the effects of the post vision headache still. Silently Krolia got up and went over to check further on her son. “Keith,” She said softly. She gave it a few minutes before she tried talking to him again, to see if he would open up on his own. So far it wasn’t working like she hoped it would. “Keith.” She tried again a little bit louder. “Are you alright?” She asked him. Keith shook his head at her, and took in a deep breath. It took a minute but he was able to open his eyes and look at her. And when he did, she could see the tears pooling in his eyes. Something was wrong here. 

“Keith?” Krolia asked him worriedly. “What’s wrong, are you okay, are you hurt?” Keith shook his head and moved his hands to start rubbing at his eyes to try and get the tears to stop. Krolia tentatively reached out and took his hands away from his face so that he wouldn’t hurt his eyes. Keith tried to fight back and resist her, but ended up giving up pretty quickly. He sagged back against the wall and hung his head down, he was avoiding making eye-contact with her. Krolia resisted the urge to sigh again. She was at the point that she was beginning to give up on Keith talking to her, when all of a sudden he spoke to her. And what he said sent chills down her back. “You’ve seen everything haven’t you?” 

“What do you mean Keith?” Krolia asked him. She had a feeling at what he was getting at, and she didn’t want him to not talk to her if he found out that she knew. “That vision that he just had.” Keith told her. “You saw it too didn’t you, the exact same thing as I did right?” He asked her. And Krolia nodded her head in agreement, but she was a little bit unsure of where this was supposed to be going right now. “So that means, the fever dream that I thought I had when I was sick was more likely than not a vision of my past right?” He questioned. “I don’t know Keith,” Krolia told him. “I don’t know what you saw while you were sick?” She said. “But you had visions about things while I was incompasitated right?” He asked her. Krolia took a few moments to figure out her response. She knew that she had to tell Keith the truth, he deserved it and she knew that she wanted to tell him the whole truth. But she was so scared of scaring him away from her if she told him what she knew. “Yes.” Krolia told him. “I had some visions of things while you were sick.” She told him. “But what does that have to do with anything?” She asked him. Krolia was really wishing that he wasn’t going to ask her the question that he ended up asking her. “You know about Gloria don’t you?” And Krolia felt her heart sink at just how broken and done he sounded with all of it. She never wanted her son to feel pain like this, ever. If she could, she’d go back and take away all of his pain and end anyone who dared to lay a hand on her baby boy. 

“I… I think so.” Krolia told him. “I…” She was at a loss for words here. She really didn’t know what to say to him. What she witnessed that monster do to her son and the woman, Gloria was apaling to her. She’s only ever seen such violence and so much disregard for another living beings in the warlord’s territories. She had thought that her son was safe on Earth, no one had known about it, it was in the middle of nowhere and very far away from Zarkon. But she didn’t count on the fact that there were still monsters lurking on the planet that she never encountered. Keith was just sitting there staring at her, watching for what she would do. “I am so sorry..” Krolia was finally able to choke out. And Keith was shocked at her reaction, he didn’t expect his mother to start crying on him. He wanted to go and console her, but then it dawned on him that he really didn’t know this woman that well. He was way out of his element and didn’t want to make things way worse than they already were. The only thing that he could think about was where was Lance when he needed him. Then he mentally slapped himself for that thought, Lance was off limits and he didn;t think about his friends like that, especially when you have a crush on said friend and then there’s a large chance that he’ll never be able to see him ever again. 

Keith just took a deep breath, and just launched himself at his mother. He wrapped his arms around her in a big and tight hug. It was very awkward at first, since neither one of them was expecting this, but after a couple of seconds Krolia returned the hug and Keith just buried his head into her chest. “If I had known that you would end up going through all of that, I swear to you Keith I would have taken the risks and taken you and Russell with me when I left.” Krolia whispered into his hair. And she was crying at this point, and Keith didn’t know that much about his mother, but in the short time that they have been together Keith realizes that he hates it when his mother cries. “It’s okay,” Keith told her. “You didn’t know and I don’t blame you for it.”He told her. Krolia just hugged him tighter and Keith was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to let him go anytime soon and he was okay with that. He felt like he could be around his mother more, and she felt more comfortable around him. He liked that feeling, and he was glad that he had found her. 

Eventually, the two of them pulled apart from each other and just sat back a little bit. Both of them just stared at each other for a long moment. Krolia had tears pouring out of her eyes but she wasn’t making any kind of noise, and Keith had no doubt that he was doing any better at the moment. “I don’t like it when you cry Mom.” Keith blurted out suddenly. He felt a little awkward about it since he’s never really come right out and called her mom. And Krolia had a sort of surprised look on her face, so she wasn’t expecting that either. She just looked at him for a little bit before a small smile bloomed on her face. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She let out a little laugh, and went to go and hug him again. Though this one wasn’t as long or as painful(His mother was very, very, much stronger than she looked). “You know something?” Krolia asked him. Keith just shook his head at her. “No, what?” He asked her. “You may look more like me, and have my lack of impulse control.” She told him. “But you sound like your father, and you have his way with words and his temper.” She told him with a laugh. Keith sighed and rolled his eyes, though he had a small smile on his too, but he wasn’t going to admit to anything to his mother. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad at all. 


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Krolia talk some more, and then Keith gets to have the sex talk with her, among other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter, and the epilogue left! This has been the fastest that I've finished a multichaptered story before. I guess qurantine is good for something after all. Have a nice day and the last 2 chapters of this should be coming out before the end of the week, if not later tonight or tomorrow.   
> -N.

Chapter 5

As it turns out, Keith ad Krolia had a lot more in common than they thought. They started talking with each other more, and their topics ranged to various things. Krolia told him about her childhood spent in the Empire. Keith sat there and listened as she explained to him what happened to her family as a little girl. She then told him that she didn’t want to abandon him like she ended up being though it wasn’t intentional, but she was trying so hard to protect him. She told him that it would have just killed her if anything happened to him or his father. And Keith knew that she really loved his Pop and that they had plans that when all of this was supposed to be over about going away somewhere far off just the three of them and living happily ever after. She also informed him of what happened to her sister, and his cousin. She was surprised to hear that he’s come into contact with Axca before. She had heard from Kolivan that Voltron was really giving Lotor and the Empire a run for their money, but she didn’t realize how involved her son was in it. But she wasn’t happy when Keith told her that during their first encounter Axca had tried to kill him and leave him dead for some Wemblum to devour. Lotor had corrupted the girl and she didn’t like it and wished that she had done more to get him away from her. But it was in the past now and it wasn’t something that she could go back and change now. Keith did give her the hope that once they got out of here that they could go back and try to get her out. That made her smile a little bit, the two of them have come so far in their time here. 

Once that conversation was out of the way, they moved on to Keith’s turbulent childhood. He explained in more detail about how Russell had died, and took great joy in the fact that his mother was even more ready to go after the owner of the condemned building. He then went on to tell her about his time in the foster care system. She wasn’t happy about any of it though. Keith could tell that she was pissed off that he had to go through all of that by himself. And it wouldn’t surprise him in the very least that she was secretly planning the death of his old social worker. Things got better though when he started talking to her about Gloria. She was the only foster mother that took good care of him that he loved, and she loved him back. “She was,.. Like the embodiment of sunshine, and happiness.” Keith told her. “That’s the only way that I can think of to describe her, and even that doesn’t do her justice.” He had a small smile on his face and Krolia could tell that the woman made him happy. “You seem to have been very fond of her.” Krolia stated. She wasn’t mad at all that Keith had grown attached to another mother-like figure. She had left to make sure that the Garla couldn’t harm him at all, and his father died. She wasn’t able to take care of her son, and she was glad that he found someone to look after him. It was such a shame that happened to her. 

“Yeah.” Keith told her. “Gloria was the best.” Keith told her. “Out of all the places that I had been dragged to, to live in, she was my favorite.” Keith said. “She wasn’t that much older than Shiro, and she was pretty chill.” He said. “I guess I really liked her because she got me.” Krolia didn’t understand what he meant by that at all. “Gloria was an orphan too, her parents and little brother had died in a car wreck when she was little.” Keith informed her. “ She was placed with her grandmother until she died of cancer a couple of years later.” Krolia thought that was just awful, she felt sorry for the poor woman. “But Gloria was lucky, she got put with a good family on her first try, and when she grew out of the system she decided to give back.” Keith told her. “I was one of her first kids.” Keith said with tears brimming in his eyes. “And I was also her last one.” Krolia reached over and wrapped an arm around her son’s shoulder, hoping that she was at least giving him some comfort, if even just a little. She hated that Keith had to go through all of that. She watched the whole thing happen in the vision and even just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. No child, no person should have had to go through that. She was glad the bastard was dead and couldn't have the ability or power to hurt Keith anymore, but she’d be lying if she said that she didn’t want a crack at his face and his balls. 

“What makes things even worse was that Gloria and Roger were planning on getting married.” Keith told her. “Roger had approached me one night, and asked for my permission to propose to her.” Keith said. “The guy kind of gave me the creeps, but he made Gloria beyond happy and I wasn’t going to get in the way of it.” Keith looked very distraught at that. Krolia wished that she could be of more help to her son. She felt awful not knowing how to help her son. “Gloria had just announced that she wanted to petition to adopt me, and I told her yes.” Keith told her with his head down. Krolia could tell that he was nervous about telling her that part of information. He probably didn’t want her to be made at him for it. She wasn’t mad at him at all, it was simple, Krolia couldn’t be there to take care of her son, and this nice, bright, and wonderful woman loved him enough to be able to take care of him. And it just wasn’t right that she ended up dead. And she told Keith all of this. “Don’t worry Keith.” She told him. “I’m not mad at you or Gloria or anyone else.” She explained to him. “I couldn’t be there to take care of you growing up after your father died.” Krolia said. “And luckily you were eventually put with someone like Gloria who loved you and wanted to take care of you as I did.” She told him.”I’m not mad at you at all Keith, I hate what that monster did to you and to her, no one, especially a child and someone as good as Gloria deserved what happened to the two of you.” And Keith just lost it afterwards. 

Keith just went into her embrace. He clung onto her like his life depended on it. Krolia remained firm though, her son needed her and she wasn’t going to let him suffer on his own anymore. So she hugged him as hard as she could, and hoped for the best. “Moom..” Keith croaked out. “I… Can’t,..breathe.” Krolia let go almost immediately, and apologized to him, but Keith just waved her off and told her it was fine. “Well,” Krolia said. “Things could have been a whole lot worse than they actually were.” She said. “I’m glad that you made it out alive.” “I am too.” Keith told her. “What,....what happened that night really messed me up a lot.” Keith said. “I struggled for a really long time with the trauma, and no one really helped me with it.” He said. “And the few that did try, didn’t click and made everything way worse than they already were.” Krolia nodded her head along to show that she was listening and paying attention to him. “Things didn’t get better until Shiro took me in under his wings when I got recruited for the Garrison.” Keith told her. “I wasn’t an easy kid and I had a lot of issues.” He said as he started to scratch at his arms absentmindedly. Krolia took notice of this action and didn’t say anything about it out loud. “I used to be really into self-harming.” Keith confessed to her. Krolia knew that her eyes got wide at that. She knew that Keith had issues that she probably hadn’t dealt with before, but she never thought that things were that bad. “I didn’t mean too, I just accidently dropped a glass at one of the group homes that I was at, after Gloria, and I cut my hand when I went to pick it up.” He explained to her. “And things just sort of spiraled down from there.” He said. “Then one night when I first started at the Garrison, Shiro walked in on me cutting myself.” Keith told her. “He took the razor away from me, along with all of the other sharp objects that I could get on.” Keith said. “ I managed to convince him to let me keep your blade though, on the condition that I went to therapy.” He said. “I hated it, but I didn’t want to give up the only thing that I had left of you and Pop, so I kept my mouth shut.” Krolia was stunned, she never thought that something like this could ever happen to her family, like ever. She felt awful that she couldn’t do anything to stop it. 

They spent the next couple of hours going over the Kerberos mission, and how he found the Blue Lion and got launched into the war. He talked about his time with Voltron and all of the people that he met. He told her about the Blade Trials, and she really had to resist the urge to knock out all of Kolivan’s teeth the next time that she saw him for what he put her baby through. Keith told her about all of the times when they lost Shiro, and how the second time around he actually had a support system to help him out a lot. And that was when they breached the subject of one Lance McClain. And that was all that Keith talked about for hours upon hours upon hours. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that her son was in love with his fellow Paladin and ex-right hand man. And when she asked him if they were going out at the time that he left Keith choked on a piece of the strange meat that he had been eating that night for dinner. When he was able to breathe properly again he started sputtering out about how they couldn’t stand each other when they first met and it took them forever to be able to get along without fighting. But he slipped up a bit when he started ranting about how blue the other boy’s eyes were and how it was so unfair that someone was as nice and as pure to exist like Lance. Her boy was smitten and Krolia took great joy out of teasing him about all of it. Keith on the other hand hated it, but he couldn’t stop talking about Lance. And when she found out about their trip to another planet that they found out that not only was he fated to be with his crush by the universe, he was also a carrier. 

Krolia wasn’t really surprised about that information in the slightest. She knew that there was a very large chance that Keith would end up with the ability to have children. It was a common trait among most Garla and that trait would normally get passed down to offspring regardless of what species the other parent was. She just wished that she could have been there to sit Keith down and explain everything to him. It was something that she was concerned about when she was pregnant with him that she often expressed to Russell. When he had told her that only female humans could conceive and carry children she didn’t know what to think. But she was able to explain to Russell about it and tell him all of the signs that showed that Keith was a male carrier if he was in fact one. Sadly, Russell never got the chance to explain any of this to Keith since he died before Keith hit the age that he would start showing the signs. But that was all in the past now, and it was something that they couldn’t really dwell on. Now she just had to do all of the explaining to him herself and make sure that if he were to ever do anything with his partner or whoever he ended up with in the end. It was the least that she could do after all of these years gone from one another. 

That conversation was way more awkward than anyone of them could ever imagine. Keith was beat read the whole entire time as she was explaining all of it to him. She knew that Keith had never been in any sort of relationship besides familiar. And his incident with Roger had pretty much turned him from doing anything too intimate. She also knew that her son was gay, and that it was more likely that he would end up pregnant since he would end up with a male. And she could also tell that Keith was really nervous about this, it also probably didn’t help that she kept talking about Lance while explaining this to him. On more than one occasion Keith told her that she was too embarrassing for him. Krolia just laughed and told him that when he had his own children he could do the same thing if not worse to them as she was doing to him. Keith took some comfort from that, but he really didn’t want to have the sex talk from this mother. And he really didn’t want to hear the intimate details about what sex was like with his father and all of the stuff that they did with that when his mother was pregnant with him. That was just weird and Keith really wished that a hole would just appear and come to swallow him whole so that he wouldn’t have to deal with it. But with his luck that wasn’t the case. He started to wonder how much longer they were going to be stuck on this thing’s back. On the bright side, at least he was getting along with his mother. Even if she was kind of embarrassing him greatly. 


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One word. Kosmo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Only one more chapter left! I think that this is the fastest that I have ever completed anything on here, so I'm proud of myself. Anyway, after this, I'm going back to SEVENTEEN to work on it for a little bit, before coming back and finishing out this series. But don't this series along with every other on going project I have will be completed at some point. And a heads up at some point near the middle Keith hints at the prospect of him killing himself. If this makes you uncomfortable skip it. I'd tell where exactly but when I went back over it I couldn't find it, but I swear it's in there. I'm just a horrible proof reader. Anyway, have a nice day!   
> -N.

Chapter 6

The next couple of months that they spent there on the space whale together were pretty pleasant. The weather had gotten a little colder the longer that they were there, but by the time that it came about that they had what they needed. Keith and Krolia were able to learn how to skin the animals that they came across and use the fur to keep warm. Though Keith ended up with most of them since he about froze to death. Krolia had explained to him that most Garlan run hot blooded, but the few who don’t, always freeze. Keith told her that was the other reason that he wore his jacket all the time. He had just chucked it up to all of the blood loss that he suffered because of the cutting. The two of them would spend the nights huddled up together in the cave as close to the fire as they could be without it being dangerous. They were able to stock up on enough food to last them a while and the next thing that they knew it was springtime again. And things continued on as they did beforehand. On the plus side, Keith and Krolia had grown even closer with each other. He felt calmer than he ever has in his life. And yes, he still has a bunch of other trauma that he’s going to have to work through, but at the moment, he felt at peace with himself. All his life he had grown up wondering what he did to push his mother away from him, why she hated him so much that she just gave up and left. Now, he knew that it wasn’t the case anymore. 

He had told his mother right out what life was like growing up without her and Russell. And he knew that Krolia had seen some of the visions of his past. So Krolia knew that his life wasn’t easy in the slightest. Not that long after they had their first set down discussion between them and Keith knew that he had to talk to her about this. He knew that if he didn’t do it now then it would never get done, and he needed that closure. Even though he knows now that his mother loves him so, so much and she would do anything and everything for him. He knows that his mother loves him and that he loves her. And there’s a but here. But, he had it drilled into his head for so long that Keith wasn’t lovable enough, was too much of a problem for her to deal with, and that was why she left. Keith needed this, his mom told him that he needed to work through his traumas and that she would be there with him all the way to do it. And this was something that he really needed to work through and get over to be able to move on with his life. 

Keith had worked up the nerve, finally to talk to his mom about his feelings. And Krolia paid attention to him through all of it. She knew that her son, even if they never spent much time with each other until now, he acted a lot like her. She knew now that Keith was a very reserved, introverted and somewhat closed-off person. It was easy to tell that he had a very hard time expressing and sharing his feelings with others. She knew how hard this was for him, and that it took a lot for him to do it. Her son needed her help now, and she was going to do everything in her power to help him. So she sat there and listened to him attentively as he went on to explain everything that he had been carrying around with him for almost 20 years. Krolia learned a lot from their previous conversations and she learned a lot from this one as well. One of the things that stuck with her throughout all of them was how much she wanted to choke out his social worker. That woman had no right to be around her son and treat him like a burden the way that she did and put him with those awful people who hurt him and turn his own mind against not only the world, but himself as well. She thanked her lucky stars that Takashi Shirogane got his hands on her son. Even though they’ve never met, Keith talks about him all of the time too. Shiro was the only other person that he talked about constantly besides Lance. Shiro saved her son from himself the first time, and Lance did it the second time. She has both of those men to thank for keeping her son alive so that they could be together now. 

Keith ended up pouring his heart out to his mother. He told her everything, about how he always felt that he did something to make her leave. Keith told Krolia about the countless times that he was forced to open up to strangers about these emotions and feelings that he didn’t know what to with. He was told that they were supposed to help him. But the only ‘help’ they gave him made him feel even worse than he already did. He told her that he would always go home or wherever he was assigned to at the time and find some place away from the others and just cry. Right before Shiro had found him, he just stopped crying all together. Shiro helped him learn to feel things again and that having emotions wasn’t something to feel ashamed of. He told her that because of this that he felt as if no one could ever love him, and that just used to devastate him until it got to the point that he just went numb. That was sort of when Keith hit rock bottom, and he thought that things were never going to get better, like ever. He was only about 12 oe so at the time, and he had already just given up on life. He had even confessed to his mother that he was contemplating killing himself right around the time that Shiro met him. He told her that if it weren’t for Shiro he would in fact be dead by now. Shiro helped him out more than any other person in his life, and Keith owes him so, so, much. And Krolia sat there and listened and realized that she did too. 

Life got better for the both of them after that. Krolia had noticed all of the changes that her son had gone through during their time here. He had grown not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He was calmer than before, and wiser, he took the time to really think about things before acting on them. He still struggled to accept help from others, and opened up to people in general. But that could be chalked up to the fact that he was her son and he acted way too much like her. And even though they were away from all of their allies, friends, and loved ones, Keith seemed happy. In the almost a little over a year that they’ve been stuck here, she’s seen a great change in his personality. He was happy, more care-free,and just so relaxed. Krolia let a small smile graced her lips, she loved seeing him happy, and healthy. Keith had grown in height some. He was still shorter than her by a little bit, up he was taller. He was also broader and more gruff looking than before. She was glad that he didn’t look so scrawny and in need of food as he did when they first met. 

But that wasn’t the only change that Keith has gone through, physically. Krolia could now tell just by his body type alone that he was a carrier. And when she informed Keith of this, he turned redder than those tomatoe things that Russell used to get for her when she was pregnant. She loved those things so much, and it’s been years since she’s had them. Keith’s hips are wider than before, so that his body can be able to carry a kit to full-term. Along with his thighs and the rest of his lower regions of his body. And she knew that Keith was embarrassed about being a carrier and he was self-conscious about the way that his body was changing. Krolia didn’t see anything wrong with it, he was maturing and growing up, becoming a man, an adult. Keith then pointed out to her that most Earth males can’t get knocked up. And Krolia then informed him that he had it easier than some of the other hybrids with this condition. Telling Keith that he would more likely than not just have to deal with cramps, moodiness, and some bleeding if or when he ever had kids was much better than the ones who went into heat like animals that she saw on Earth. And that shut Keith up for the rest of the day that day. 

Krolia also knew that Keith was uncomfortable about his body because of Lance. He was scared that the boy that he was in love with and had a crush on would look at him differently. Krolia pointed out about the fact that he had learned that fact about himself before he did, and he still treated Keith the same way as before. Keith, begrudgingly agreed with her, but that didn’t help the new insecurities that he felt about himself. Krolia told him that even if things didn’t work out for him and Lance that she would still have herself and Shiro. That brought a small smile to Keith’s face. He felt more reassured in himself now that he knew that he had a family and a support system that he could fall back on now. It was something that he wanted and really needed all of his life. And now that he finally has it, he couldn't be any happier than he already is now. 

Well at least that’s what he thought until he met his wolf. Keith was walking through the woods one day. He was looking for some more firewood and berries for their little camp site that they’ve been living in for the past year or so. More likely more than a year but Keith didn’t know that for sure. He was just ambling along, minding his own business when he stumbled upon something. Keith had thought that he had been hearing things at first, but the closer he was getting to whatever it was, the louder the noise got for him. He hesitated for a minute when he got close enough to figure out where the noise was coming from. The whimpering noise that Keith had heard was coming from a little bush that was a little ways up the trail from where he was walking. But, hearing that whimpering he couldn’t just stop and not do anything. He knew full well that there could possibly be some sort of predator behind the bush laying in wait, ready to attack him. But Keith just had this feeling that he had to help, so he went and looked behind the bush.What he found was a little wolf pup. He was one of the most adorablest things that he’s ever seen. Looking around, Keith couldn’t find the mother of the little pup anywhere, it dawned on him that the poor thing could have been abandoned and left here to die. “Hey, little guy.” Keith spoke to him softly as not to startle him. The little pup seemed to be hurt, and he needed medical attention, maybe his mom would know what to do. “Where’s your mom?” Keith asked him. And the pup just whimpered in response, that couldn’t be good. Keith made a split second decision on what he had to do, even if his mom wouldn’t have liked it. 

When Krolia saw Keith coming in through the clearing, she wasn’t expecting him to come back with a small animal in his arms. Keith had a sheepish smile on his face as he sat the poor little thing down. He then went on to explain to his mother how he stumbled upon the pup during his walk in the woods. He said that he went and tried to find its mother, but was unsuccessful. And Keith argued that he just couldn’t leave the poor thing alone when it was hurt. He couldn’t just abandon it to die all alone. Krolia sighed to herself, of course her son would use that argument. She couldn’t believe that she was doing this but she let her son keep the wolf. But, it would be good for Keith, she reasoned in her head. He’d learn some more responsibility and the wolf would be able to help him calm down some more, and relax. In her short time on Earth Krolia could remember reading an article or something about how animals are good ways to relieve stress and everyday troubles. Maybe this would be a good thing for Keith, especially since she didn’t know how much longer they’d be stuck here. And when they finally get out of here, Krolia knew that they had a long journey ahead of them, and that was the easy part. 


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end, and a fresh new determination for them all to complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end of the road folks! Hope that you all enjoyed the ride so far. It'll be awhile before the second half of the series comes out. I'm going to go and work on SEVENTEEN and some other projects before coming back to this and finishing it so I don't burn out and just leave it. Anyway, thank you to all of those who have read this and stuck with it, and I hope that you enjoy the next part whenever it comes out.   
> Thank you all again and have a nice day.   
> -N.

Epilogue

They ended up spending a total of two years together on that whale. Though it probably was less time that had passed for everyone else that they knew. Things worked differently in the abyss than in the rest of the universe. Both of them felt a lot of relief when they realized that they had come to the end of their journey. It had been a long two years for the both of them. It wasn’t easy for any of them, but they had grown not only as individual people but as a mother and son. They were very close with each other and they had no qualms about anything. All of the trouble and trauma that they had with each other before was way in the past. Thanks to the space whale they were able to start fresh, with a new and clean slate. They bonded with each other and they were closer than ever, and neither one of them wanted to be separated from the other for a long time. They had each other now and nothing was going to change that one bit. 

Though when they came to the very end of their journey, they didn’t expect what they found. The mother and son duo had stumbled across a secret Altean Colony in the middle of nowhere in the universe. They took the chance and went exploring to see what they could find out about it. Luckily they ran into a young Altean girl by the name of Romelle in the woods. She had run away from her home to try and find out where her brother and parents were being held.She explained to them that they had volunteered to be a part of this big plan that their leader Lotor had in the works. He had told them that what he was doing was vital and necessary for the survival; of their people. Lotor had told them all that this was the right way, and everyone had believed him. But Romelle had finally figured out what was actually going on behind the scenes of his big project. She knew that they were taking the quintessence, their life force out of the victims. She couldn’t find any of her family. But she hadn’t seen any of them there and she was fearing the worse. 

Romelle then went on to tell the two of them that she went back to her village to try and convince people what was going on. But no one would believe her. She was made fun of and mocked for what she had learned. She told them all that Lotor had all of her people fooled and she couldn’t make them see it any other way. So she decided to go off on her own to try and either find Lotor, or proof of what he was doing to try and make people believe her. And that was where she ran into the two of them. She then got down on her knees and begged and pleaded with them to help her. She was desperate and she didn’t care who else knew about it. But she had to find her family. And if her worst fears became true then she needed to bring their murderer to justice. She wanted revenge on Lotor for taking her family away from her and all of the pain that he’s caused everyone else in the colonies that he took away to experiment on. 

Now Keith has grown and matured a lot in his time on the space whale. He’s calmer and wiser than he was when he first went into space. But Lotor was always a sore spot for him, like Roger and Gloria, his parents, or James Griffin from his Garrison days. And saying that Keith can honestly say that he really wanted to rip Lotor limb from limb at the moment. Taking a glance over at his mother he could tell that she was thinking the ever same thing. He’s always had a bad feeling about Lotor and the things that he was up to. Both him and Lance knew that there wasn’t something right about the guy, and it just unsettled them. But they were always outnumbered and outmatched by the rest of their friends. Keith was pretty sure that part of that reason was that Allura had a huge crush on the Garlan Prince, but she would never admit it when Lance would confront her about it. Keith and Lance knew the truth, but like Romelle they couldn’t find any proof to get anyone to believe them. And he was more determined now than ever to help Romelle out now. At this point, it was safe to say that she was an orphan like Keith thought that he was. He knew that she needed answers and she needed closer and he was going to help her get it. 

Keith agreed and told Romelle that he would do everything in his power to go and help her out. So him, his mother, and Romelle were able to sneak back into the colony and get a pod to escape. Their next destination was the Castle of Lions, Keith knew that they could get help there. He knew that they could trust Team Voltron and that they could defeat Lotor and the rest of the Garla. They just had to get there first, he needed to convince them all that Lotor was bad news. They just had to hope and pray that more people than just Lance would believe them. The only two big obstacles in their way were Allura and Shiro. Which was ironic to begin with considering that the two of them were the ones who were the most cautious of the Garla. And now they were all buddy, buddy with Lotor. Keith had known that something wasn’t quite right when he left, but he was too scared to say anything about it because he thought that no one would believe him. Now, he realizes that it was a very wrong decision. He was determined now to go and do everything in his power to make up for it. He was going to stop Lotor from hurting anyone else, no matter what it took. He had a lot of people to protect, and the same amount to help him take them down once and for all. 


End file.
